CD LISTENING BAR

There’s a new kind of barfly in town.

At the CD Listening Bar in San Juan Capistrano, bartenders set up a couple of discs and the customers settle down in leather bar stools to a steady pouring of music. It’s the kind of hip environment and one-on-one service that not only appeals to regular customers--it creates them.

“Let’s say you like reggae in general,” said owner David Hurwitz. “There’s a lot of different reggae sounds to choose from. How will you know to buy what you like without listening to the sound first?”

While the service and setting of the bar are unique to mainstream record stores, the concept is reminiscent of the listening booths of the early 1960s. Back then, some record stores allowed customers to hear records before they bought them.

“I come here a lot . . . probably more than I should,” said Aaron Zeff, 19, of Mission Viejo. “I listen to stuff I normally wouldn’t buy. When I buy CDs now, I know I’ll like the whole album.”

Zeff said he spotted the CD Listening Bar while shopping at the Price Club with his parents.

“They told me how, when they were teen-agers, they went to listening booths,” he said. “They don’t know how different this (sitting at the bar and listening) is.”

Much like shopping in a video rental store, customers select an empty box and take it to the listening bar. A “bartender” fills the order from stock kept behind the bar. During busy hours, listening time is limited to 20 minutes.

But you won’t find just teens in this compact disc-only shop. According to Hurwitz, the store also caters to an older crowd. “We get people in their mid-20s to 50s who listen to jazz, New Age, classical and reggae,” Hurwitz said. “Compared to MTV music, these forms rarely get radio exposure, so how do people know what they like?”

That’s how the concept of the listening bar came to be. Hurwitz and co-owner Jeff Walker took a look at their own compact disc libraries. What they saw was a stack of discs they never listened to or no longer liked.

“The problem was that we bought CDs based on one song we liked,” Hurwitz said. “That happens to plenty of people. Well, we don’t want you to buy a CD you don’t like.

“And if you’re not familiar with a type of music, we help customers by selecting titles and artists. People sit in here and sample all day long. That’s what we’re here for.”

The two initially hoped to open a used compact disc shop. Then, as a part of a UC Irvine business project, they drew up a Cheers-style bar design and set up 20 leather stools--each with its own CD player and headset. The store now carries more than 17,000 titles. And customers trade in about 500 used CDs each week for cash ($4) or credit ($5) on merchandise. The used discs are sold for less than $10.

Aside from the listening bar, the other big difference shoppers will notice is the discs have been removed from their cardboard long boxes. While this is time-consuming and labor-intensive, Hurwitz said that part of the concept for the store was to be ecologically aware. Last year the listening bar recycled 40 tons of cardboard waste.

With this, the CD Listening Bar is one step ahead of a trend. Industry pressure groups have successfully lobbied record companies to drop the long box. Beginning next spring, packaging will simply feature the compact disc in a shrink-wrapped box.

“Europe has never used the long box,” Hurwitz said. “We knew in our business projection that it would be a matter of time before the U.S. recording companies dropped the box, too.”

There is a rule in business that goes something like: First you plan, then plan some more. Hurwitz and Walker have certainly done their homework. A second listening bar recently opened in Irvine and there is talk of expanding to San Diego and Los Angeles counties.

“It’s a basic concept: People want good service,” Hurwitz said. “And there’s a bonus knowing they won’t have to bring a CD back. They’ve heard it and liked it.”

Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Address: 33955-B Doheny Park Road, San Juan Capistrano

Telephone: (714) 248-2323

Miscellaneous Information: Second store is at 3995-A Alton Parkway, Irvine, (714) 955-2323. It’s open from 9 a.m. to midnight daily.